High School Gymnastics: Eagles finish second to Pierre at quadrangular

April 03, 2007

By Deb Smith American News Sports Writer Two gymnastics squads that were working through some injury problems still managed to capture the top two spots at a quadrangular meet. Pierre finished first with 128.55 points and Aberdeen Central followed in second with 122.20 in a four-team meet hosted by Aberdeen on Tuesday. Milbank was third and Stanley County was fourth. Pierre, which competed without two injured athletes, was led by all-around winner Shelby Abels with a 34.40. For Pierre gymnastics coach Nicki Abels, the meet featured team and personal success. Nicki is Shelby's coach and mother. "I thought we did very well considering we left one of our top all-around athletes at home so we were down a little bit," said Nicki Abels, who listed the balance beam as the team's strongest event at the meet. "I was pleased with our consistency. The beam has been one of our strong events. We stayed on the beam and performed our skills well." Shelby Abels, a 15-year-old freshman, won the uneven bars (8.80) and the balance beam (8.50) on her way to the all-around title. "She's still injured," said Nicki Abels. "She gritted her way through it. She was consistent and picked it up out there." The Golden Eagles finished second despite an old injury and a new injury. Jessica Stangl is still out with an injury and Alli Arampatzis sustained a hand injury and was unable to compete in the uneven bars. "In spite of some injuries and some mishaps, I still feel we had a good meet," said Aberdeen coach Jen Deutsch. "I feel that way because of the excitement the girls had. They were coming back after break and they showed a lot of energy. Each and every girl was pleased about something." One of the happy Golden Eagle gymnasts was another 15-year-old freshman, Jordan Swanson. With a tie for second in the vault, a fifth in uneven bars and sixth-place finishes in the beam and floor exercise, Swanson finished fourth in the all-around competition. "We worked on cleaning up our routines and our execution," said Swanson, who posted personal best scores in the all-around and bars. "I get an adrenaline rush when I compete and I love it. I feel great. Everyone did good and it was a great meet." Another Golden Eagle gymnast, Adrianne Skaggs, was second in the all-around (34.25). She won the vault at 8.80 and tied for first in the balance beam with an 8.50. Skaggs added a second-place finish in the bars and a fourth in the floor exercise. The other individual champion in the meet was Erin Holtquist of Milbank in the floor exercise with an 8.75. Aberdeen will participate in the Brookings Invitational on Saturday. "We'll continue to work on our routines in practice because that's where it's going to happen is in practice," Deutsch said. "We need to get the same feeling in practice to be able to perform the routines at a meet." VARSITY Team Points: Pierre 128.55, Aberdeen Central 122.20, Milbank 119.30, Stanley County 112.45. Vault: 1, Adrianne Skaggs, Aberdeen, 8.80; 2 (tie), Jordan Swanson, Aberdeen, 8.50; 2 (tie), Chelsea Klinger, Pierre, 8.50; 4 (tie), Shelby Abels, Pierre, 8.40; 4 (tie), Alli Arampatzis, Aberdeen, 8.40. Uneven Bars: 1, Abels, 8.80; 2, Skaggs, 8.40; 3, Erin Holtquist, Milbank, 8.30; 4, Cheyna Lodge, Pierre, 8.10; 5, Swanson, 7.60. Balance Beam: 1 (tie), Abels, 8.50; 1 (tie), Skaggs, 8.50; 3, Klinger, 8.15; 4, Shelby Magorien, Pierre, 7.40; 5, Lodge, 7.20. Floor Exercise: 1 (tie), Holtquist, 8.75; 1 (tie), Klinger, 8.75; 3, Abels, 8.70; 4, Skaggs, 8.55; 5, Sheila Ricketts, Stanley County. All-Around: 1, Abels, 34.40; 2, Skaggs, 34.25; 3, Holtquist, 32.40; 4, Swanson, 31.55; 5, Magorien, 30.35. Other Aberdeen Results Vault: 7 (tie), Jessica Greger, 8.30. Uneven Bars: 10 (tie), Maria Decker, 6.60. Balance Beam: 6, Swanson, 7.15; 9, Arampatzis, 6.80. Floor Exercise: 6, Swanson, 8.30. JUNIOR VARSITY Aberdeen Central Results Team Points: Aberdeen Central JV 99.10, Milbank JV 98.50, Pierre JV 94.70, Stanley County JV 84.85. Floor Exercise: 2 (tie), Amber Bonn, 7.45; 5, Jessica Greger, 7.25; 8, Brooke Horner, 6.30; 9 (tie), Maria Decker, 6.00. Balance Beam: 5, Taylor Hermanson, 6.00; 6, Greger, 5.10. Uneven Bars: 2, Hermanson, 5.80; 4, Bonn, 5.40; 8, Horner, 4.70. Vault: 1, Bonn, 8.50; 2, Hermanson, 8.20; 3 (tie), Brittany Malsam, 8.10; 7 (tie), Erin Walth, 7.60.